


Convenience Love Store(y)

by baeconandeggs, Changdeol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: BAE2017, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 13:05:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11185707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Changdeol/pseuds/Changdeol
Summary: The weather has been awful lately and part-timer Baekhyun thinks that a horrible frost bite is the worst that he will have to deal with that evening, but then Park Chanyeol walks into his convenience store and a chain of disastrous events unfolds.





	Convenience Love Store(y)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone. First of all, thank you to the prompter for submitting this idea – I had a lot of fun writing it, it’s just too bad that real life events took me away from the process far too often for my liking. I nonetheless hope that you’ll still like my take on the story. This prompt appealed to me on some many levels, because a similar situation happened to me in that very shop in Haeundae I’m describing – minus ChanBaek romance, sadly. Thank you to the mods for being cooperative, helpful and allowing us, authors, space. To all the readers, thank you in advance for reading. Please, don’t be shy and shower all the fics with lots of love – writing is a long, and often extremely painful ^^, process so make sure to let all the authors that their effort wasn’t in vein.

It’s not an ideal day for leaving the house, and Baekhyun most definitely would not, except that part-time jobs wait for no one. So he puts on his thick coat, long ankle boots and, burying his face up to his nose in a warm red scarf, he makes his way to Seven-Eleven at the end of Haeundae-ro 161, building no 5. Thank the heavens that his one-room flat is situated literally a couple of streets away, but even that six minute stroll drags impossibly long due to the ridiculous amounts of snow that have fallen this year, and that refuse to _stop_ falling. Busan has never seen a whiter winter and that’s a fact.

‘You’ve arrived.’ Minseok looks up from the counter, where he no doubt has been studying his history notes. Minseok isn’t very good at the subject, but Baekhyun thinks that their history teacher should be at least partially blamed for his students’ disinterest in the matter – he knows a lot, but he really cannot convey that knowledge.

‘Yeah, but the weather is awful. This blizzard is no joke. I think I’ve lost feeling in my toes – I seriously need sturdier shoes.’ Baekhyun looks back to the glass door, through which he has just entered. It was hard enough to open, but the moment it closed behind the boy, the unwanted mountain of snow immediately started forming at the threshold. A beautiful nightmare, so to speak.

‘They’ve stopped the buses, haven’t they?’ Kyungsoo emerges from the ramyeon and processed food lane, taking off his apron – his work here is done, since Baekhyun has come to take over the shift. ‘I’m going to have to hail a taxi,’ he grumbles, annoyed.

‘To be honest, I don’t know what’s worse: you in a taxi on a slippery road full of snow, trying to get home in this darkness, or you on foot on a slippery road full of snow, trying to get home in this darkness,’ Minseok deadpans. ‘Wait a few more minutes – perhaps it will clear up a little bit.’

Kyungsoo doesn’t look convinced, but Baekhyun settles it by putting on his own apron and saying:

‘In the meantime, you can come here and teach me how to roast these sausages,’ because the boy has learnt the hard way that there is nothing more popular than an overpriced Seven-Eleven sausage snack at four in the morning, when a group of salary men rolls into the shop in search of food and a hangover drink. Try telling them then that there are no more sausages left.

Not a fun situation.

Ten minutes pass, with the two friends working on the grill and pretending that the horrid storm outside does not make them uneasy; with Minseok trying to concentrate on his homework and glaring at the door in annoyance every time the strong wind beats against it, producing a hard to ignore _shush_ ; and with a lonely customer seated at the table near the microwaves and away from sight, slurping on his instant kimchi jjigae. Busy with the meat and turned away from the door, Baekhyun can only hear the newcomers: first rings the bell on the door, which again opens with real difficulty, followed by shuffling and barely audible whispers.

‘He…llo.’ He hears Minseok’s confused greeting. From the corner of his eye, Baekhyun notices a customer ducking into the snack lane, with his slightly taller companion trailing after him. When he finally faces the front of the shop –more out of curiosity, than necessity – he almost immediately locks gazes with the taller male. Baekhyun barely refrains from gritting his teeth in displeasure.

Stupid Park Chanyeol and Park Chanyeol’s snap backs, which by the way, shouldn’t be worn in winter. It’s too cold, and the kid’s ears seem even redder than they normally are. Not that Baek has been staring t his ears. Or anything.

Chanyeol is seriously annoyed. It’s bad enough that Lu Han cannot seem to shut up about his convenience store crush and spends all his money on some disgusting behind the counter chilli chicken legs ( _“Because it takes so long to fry them and I can just look at him…” “How creepy of you, Lu Han.” “Thanks!”_ ), but never in his wildest dreams has the tall student imagined that he would be directly dragged into this mess. Especially in this snow storm, when he would rather enjoy his floor heating and Play Station.

But he has to be a good host. Lu Han deserves better, especially after those past six months that Chanyeol spent in Beijing in the former’s family house. Let’s just say that nothing could stop the taller when he suddenly decided that he absolutely _had to_ have a picture of the Tiananmen Square at sunrise. So yeah, if Lu Han wanted to come and hang out at the local Seven-Eleven for an infinite amount of time to ogle his Korean crush, it is Chanyeol’s duty to move heaven and earth to make it possible – and probably pay for the disgusting chilli chicken leg, too.

But damn if it isn’t horribly cold outside.

Chanyeol knows Kim Minseok, of course; they’ve _only_ been classmates since the beginning of time. In fact, they share so many subjects that it’s hard not to see the shorter, especially when he also works at the convenience store closest to Chanyeol’s house, where the latter sometimes stops by when he runs out of shoelaces, super glue or sanitary pads (don’t ask). But as an exchange student in their high school, Lu Han’s schedule is completely different, down to the lunch break, so his only real opportunity to stalk Minseok comes in the form of roasted meat on a stick and awkward conversations that mean nothing ( _“Do you need a bag?” “…Yes, please.”_ ).

But in all honesty, the real reason why Chanyeol is reluctant to go to Seven-Eleven at this particular time is Byun Baekhyun, who, as the taller has learnt, has recently been transferred to that location from another store. Chanyeol has quickly caught on which shifts to avoid if he wants to keep his good mood and peace of mind. His pride has been trampled on enough as it is.

Unfortunately, today is just not his day. Baekhyun is standing right there, behind the counter, small meat tongs in his left hand and a big frown on his face. And their eyes just have to meet over the neat raw of bottles of Milkis placed on the top shelf, which Lu Han happens to duck behind. Any other person could have easily hidden, but Chanyeol isn’t just anyone. He’s too tall and lanky to even try.

Chanyeol breaks the stare contest quite quickly in favour of looking down at his friend freaking out on the floor, because ultimately, it is easier to think about somebody else’s problems. The Korean squats next to Lu Han, sighing almost theatrically.

‘Is this how it works? You spend ten minutes here, calming yourself down, only to re-emerge and ask for that damn sausage?’ Chanyeol whispers incredulously. His voice, with its natural boisterousness, is as hard to conceal as his height. His surprise is further emphasised by the wind obnoxiously knocking on the door.

Lu Han shrugs sheepishly.

‘He’s not usually by the counter… so I just panicked,’ he whispers back, mortified. Chanyeol sighs again, lifting his head up again to spare a glance at the company standing by the cash register. As if sensing his curiosity, three pairs of eyes immediately turn towards him.

There is a ghost of an amused smirk on Kim Minseok’s lips, telling Chanyeol exactly what he wanted to know – that the former knows exactly who Lu Han is, and this whole situation is as familiar to him as it is entertaining. Byun Baekhyun looks in equal parts annoyed and puzzled (it might be because his shifts rarely fall on periods of Lu Han’s visitations), while Do Kyungsoo just scoffs.

‘Oh, for god’s sake, Lu Han, the entire neighbourhood and their mother already knows about your infatuation with Minseok hyung, so how about you just come out and say a few words to him, instead of hiding behind bottles of soda and your lame excuses again. Do you know just how bad the quality of the meat snacks that we sell here is..? You’ll end up getting indigestion.’

‘That’s not a way to talk to your customer,’ Chanyeol frowns, but what did he really expect from Do Kyungsoo? The latter is whom the tall student is the closest with among the three part-timers, and his bluntness in speech and action is widely acknowledged, so Park’s protest is only half-hearted.

‘You’re no customer of mine,’ Kyungsoo responds, narrowing his eyes which show impatience. The weather is clearly getting to him, the way his mood becomes grumpier by the minute. ‘In fact, if you’re not going to buy anything, I’d ask you to-‘

‘I am! I am buying the damn chilli chicken thigh! And make it two! I’m freaking cold and I need a snack,’ Chanyeol nearly shouts at them, becoming equally frustrated with the current situation. He finally emerges from the food section and walks up to lean against the counter where the instant coffee maker is situated - which just happens be right by Baekhyun. The two of them size each other up with hardly concealed menace, before Baekhyun decides that they’ve had enough interactions and turns to the grill that he has been manning this entire time, taking out two more pieces of frozen meat from the tiny freezer below and placing them on the roasting plate.

Kyungsoo wasn’t joking about the quality of their ready meals. Or the lack of thereof.

‘I’ll… I’ll take these as well.’ Lu Han approaches much more timidly, dropping a few pockets of crisps and cookies on the counter.

That finally draws a real response from Minseok, who puts away his homework, making space for Lu Han’s purchases. He smiles at the taller boy in a friendly manner, but the Chinese can hardly meet his eye, that’s how embarrassed he appears to be. Truth be told, the Seven-Eleven part-timer doesn’t even have to monitor the price tags to know what Lu Han’s choices will amount to – the latter always picks the same exact things. Lu Han happens to be a big fan of Gorae biscuits and barbeque flavoured crisps.

‘Are you paying separately or should I count the chicken in?’ He points to impatient Chanyeol standing in the corner – the tall boy is mindlessly tapping his finger against the counter as he continues leaning against the surface. Kyungsoo is the only one who notices that Baekhyun’s palm fisted around the tongs tightens with each rap.

‘Together. I will pay. Since I asked Chanyeol to come,’ Lu Han explains awkwardly, albeit still quietly, getting redder by the minute. It’s not use pretending now that Minseok is blind to his crush. It also wouldn’t be polite to decapitate Do Kyungsoo along with his unforgiving tongue before they even have a chance to become friends.

‘Make Park pay for himself,’ Baekhyun chirps in a syrupy sweet voice, snorting. ‘It’s only 2520 won. His loaded arse can definitely take it.’ God only knows that he’s held himself back long enough before he lashed out. The whole four minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

‘Nobody asked your sorry arse, Byun, so why don’t you just shut up and work faster,’ Chanyeol immediately retaliates, but it comes across more like a childish whine. ‘If my friend wants to treat me to a chicken leg, that’s none of your business.’

‘If I were him, I’d put your underwear in a freezer, not treat you to a snack. He’s gathered all his courage to come and see Minseok, yet you’ve done nothing but mocked him the whole time.’ Baekhyun turns away from the grill for a moment, getting agitated. His eyes slit as he catches the sight of Chanyeol. ‘But then again, why should I even expect you to understand other people’s feelings? All you care about is yours-’

‘You’re telling me that I’m insensitive? _You_? Telling _me_? Oh my fucking god, this is not happening.’ Chanyeol looks outraged. He takes off his snap back and runs his fingers through the longish strands of his auburn hair before placing the cap back on his head. His ears remain red, but Baekhyun briefly thinks it might be due to the other’s escalating anger this time. And he’s definitely not paying attention to Park’s physique.

And just when exactly did Chanyeol have the time to die his hair?

‘Why did your friend have to fall in love with my best friend, then?! Just get out before I slap you,’ Baekhyun immediately responds, looking ready to throw the tongs in the giant’s direction. At this point they have to raise their voices just to overpower the alarmingly escalating sounds of the snow storm outside. But there is a lot of anger in there too, undoubtedly.

‘Guys, just in case you weren’t aware - Lu Han is standing right here, listening to you sharing details of his secret love for Minseok and I have to say, he looks positively ready to pass out. So can you two fucking idiots get a hold of yourselves for a moment and-‘

Kyungsoo is not meant to finish that sentence, however, because there is a loud knock on the door. At first Baekhyun thinks that perhaps something hard, like a tree branch, has hit it, but then the knock repeats and finally, a shadow of a silhouette is seen behind the glass, which is otherwise covered in thick frost. The group stops their arguing and turns their attention in that direction.

The lights in the shop choose that precise moment to flicker and it draws a weak gasp from Lu Han, but the rest hardly registers the occurrence, appearing to be rendered immobile by the unexpected customer still trapped on the outside.

‘Isn’t anyone going to help that poor guy? He must be freezing.’ A raspy, accented voice comes from behind them and only then do they realise that there is still one more person in there with them – a young man in a green jumper and a leather jacket, which seems too light for the unpredictable weather conditions.

Minseok reacts first and nodding once, moves ahead, ending up pushing the door alongside the stranger. It takes a good while, but the third party eventually stumbles inside, head first and nearly falling over, coughing and all covered in snow. He quickly looks up, startled, as if sensing six pairs of curious eyes on him. In that very moment, the door is abruptly shut behind him by an extremely strong gust of wind, making everyone wince again.

‘H-Hello,’ The stranger lets out weakly, still shivering despite the thick, navy blue jacket that he is wearing.

‘Hot coffee?’ Minseok guesses, but the newcomer shakes his head.

‘Do you sell lemon tea?’ He asks, his throat clearly sore. It’s a rather dumb question – all Seven-Eleven shops around the country carry the exact same products, and _Yuja_ is the chain’s staple product. Nonetheless, Minseok wordlessly walks up to the heated cabinet and takes out a small glass bottle. The stranger passes him his Pop Card.

He has barely enough to cover the 1400 won needed for the transaction.

‘Do you have an ATM here?’ The man asks again, looking around. He takes a big gulp of the beverage, visible satisfaction spreading on his face. ‘I’ll have to charge the card before taking the bus.’ Now that he has taken off his hood, his youthful appearance is obvious. Baekhyun briefly wonders if they could be the same age.

Chanyeol must have reached the same conclusion, for he decides to address the other comfortably.

‘Dude, there are no more buses running tonight.’ The taller looks at the newcomer as if the other has lost his mind. The other frowns at the words. ‘You’ve barely made it here, haven’t you? What makes you think it’s going to be any different down the road? They’re stopping all public transport until further notice and they advise everyone to head to the nearest shelter.’ Chanyeol lifts up his mobile with the information he’s just received from his career.

 _Damn_ , Baekhyun thinks. _SK Telecom sure work fast._

The other boy doesn’t seem to be nearly as impressed with the efficiency of the city announcements as the high school student is. In fact, his eyes go wide and he splutters, not really knowing what to say, but kind of wanting to say everything at once.

‘But I have to get home,’ he eventually lets out, rather lamely. Chanyeol snorts.

‘Send your family a message that you’re stuck here. Nothing you can do about it, anyway.’

‘No, you don’t understand. I have to be back in Daegu by 10 am tomorrow morning. My life depends on it,’ the shorter insists, looking more and more panicked. ‘I need to get to Nopo right this instant and take the last coach back. I have my ticket right here…’ He begins searching through his pockets to show them, as if it would change things.

‘Yeah, about that. I don’t think you will so why don’t you just take a seat and relax. Nothing you can do about it.’ Chanyeol repeats impatiently, already losing interest in the matter. ‘Is my snack ready yet, Byun?’ He calls out to his archenemy with a vicious smile on his face. It makes Baekhyun send him a malicious stare and flip him his middle finger.

But the agitated man next to them is not willing to accept defeat yet – in fact, he behaves as if he hasn’t heard Chanyeol’s words at all.

‘I want to leave, right now,’ he murmurs to himself, making a decisive move and beginning to push against the door, which is as futile of an effort as it is dangerous. Both Minseok and the stranger in the leather jacket seem to be aware of the possible consequences, and they immediately jump at the stubborn individual in an attempt to drag him away from the entrance.

‘Stop this right now.’ The foreigner’s voice is low but carries authority that has all the other boys look up with a little more respect. Too bad the struggling one is long past such considerations. ‘I said, stop it.’

‘Let me go! If I don’t make it to that exam, my-‘ The boy’s frantic arm movements end up helping him disentangle himself from the two pairs to strong hands holding on to him and in his haste to get away, he runs into the glass door with all his might. He begins to push even harder, desperate to get out.

‘If you don’t stop right now, this door will-‘ Minseok tries to warn, but it comes too late. The lock on the door suddenly clicks, the sharp sound of the metal resonating rather loudly through the room, considering the volume of the storm outside. Both Minseok and his ally’s eyes widen in disbelief, and even the newcomer’s efforts cease. The silence that follows has Baekhyun step closer.

’Did what I think just happened, happened..?’

‘I’ve always thought that it was just an urban legend among Seven-Eleven employees, and I’ve worked in four different points so far.’ Kyungsoo adds, but unlike Baekhyun, he seems rather indifferent at the possibility of being locked up in the shop. ‘Did that door really lock automatically? You’re not pulling a prank on us?’ He looks at Minseok sceptically. The latter scoffs, not in the mood for his friend’s antics.

‘Rest assure that this is one hundred percent real. A real nightmare.’ He backs away resigned and plops down at the closest chair. He no longer cares about his mentally unstable client, who seems to be currently having a mental breakdown on the floor.

‘This happened once, three years ago when I worked in the shop in Yangsan.’ The stranger in the green jumper remarks casually. ‘Took the security almost two hours to get there and unlock the door.’

‘Dude, nobody’s going to come for us tonight,’ Chanyeol finally opens his mouth, expression full of disbelief. The realisation of their situation has downed on him. ‘Not until this weather clears up, anyway.’

‘Well, it could have been worse,’ the stranger turns to him. ‘We’re here- we’re safe, we’re warm and we have food.’

In that precise moment, the lights flicker twice, and then they go out for good. Lu Han shrieks curtly, taken by surprise, and instinctively moves closer to Minseok.

‘You were saying..?’ Baekhyun cannot help but be sarcastic. If they stranger has indeed worked in a Seven-Eleven shop before, he knows exactly that the moment the power is cut, the heating and the grill might as well not be there at all.

‘Fucking awesome.’ Baekhyun hears Chanyeol mutter, which immediately sets him off. He has really tried to maintain his appearances all this while (..ok, not really), tried to be a bigger person in all this, but in recent months, the sole mention of Park Chanyeol has been riling him up in the most unpleasant way possible.

It is a fact that nobody can deny – the tall brunette can be too carefree and immature, something that Baekhyun, a son of a single working mother, has never been able to afford. But it is not the jealousy on his part that has started this animosity, oh no. Rather, it is the fact that Park Chanyeol’s mouth is as big as his freaking ears, and that he never seems to know when to shut up – and loves arguing and insulting others just for the sake of it.

 _And then, there is the problem of what happened to them six months ago at Sehun’s party_ , Baekhyun grits his teeth. He is so not going down this memory lane just because he happens to have been trapped with Park in this tiny, god forsaken place. He really is not up for that.

Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun makes a move to look around, but although the convenience store is mostly glass - down to its front door – it is of no use now. The minus temperatures outside have turned their windows into a frost bitten work of art – it looks ridiculously pretty considering the circumstances, sure, but it heavily obstructs the view or communication with the outside world. And now, that the lighting is out, he can barely make out even the silhouettes of his companions standing among the shelves.

And the lonely figure splayed on the floor, quietly weeping over his upcoming morning exam.

‘Baekhyun,’ Minseok’s voice draws him back out of his thoughts. He has taken out his phone in attempt to light his surroundings. ‘Why don’t you take Chanyeol to the back and bring the torches? There should be some candles as well – just don’t get weirded out if they all smell like white cotton or cream puffs. Kibum used to have a brief obsession with Yankee Candles back in July, and I think the reminisce of that is still in the lower cupboard.’

‘Why do I have to go? I don’t even work here.’ Chanyeol folds his arms on his chest, immediately defensive. But maybe it is merely an attempt to retain heat – despite his ridiculously oversized winter jacket, even Park Chanyeol is eventually bound to get cold, for the temperature inside will soon decrease dramatically.

‘You’re the only one tall enough to reach the top shelf without bringing in a chair, you idiot.’ Kyungsoo’s voice booms across the shop.

‘What about that dude?’ Chanyeol argues, pointing somewhere in the direction of the tall stranger in the leather jacket.

‘It’s Yifan, and I’m gonna help out this guy here. Stand up, buddy. It’s not the end of the world.’ He turns to the sole culprit responsible for their misery, who reluctantly leaves his corner.

‘It’s Junmyeon.’ The younger mumbles, looking defeated. ‘And it is the end of _my_ world.’

‘You’ve heard the man.’ Kyungsoo prompts again. ‘So move along, Park. It’s so dark in there that Baekhyun might just fall off, should he try to climb.’

Baekhyun doesn’t know if that _Let him_ that he hears from Chanyeol is real or just a figment of his imagination. He decides to let it go; the evening is bad enough as it is. He takes out his own phone to light the way.

Chanyeol is not happy.

In all honesty, he should probably blame Lu Han, that would be easy and probably justified, too - it was the Chinese who effectively ruined what could have otherwise been a perfectly enjoyable evening, away from the cold and away from Byun Baekhyun. But Chanyeol has enough decency to not lash out on his friend, who looks devastated, not to mention slightly scared. He’s probably also beside himself right now, since Kim Minseok is trying to appease him by rubbing his hand across Lu Han’s back and murmuring some encouraging words. That leaves Park to fend for himself.

So no, Chanyeol is not happy. Or at least, that is what he keeps telling myself as he follows his arch enemy _slash_ one-time crush to the back room, which is more of a size of a small closet. Or that pantry at Sehun’s house where six months ago Chanyeol poured his guts out to the blond, only to have his feelings rejected in the cruellest way possible the next day. The bitterness of the fact helps him focus his eyes on the back of Byun’s head, instead of letting them slide to his hips, but _barely_. Although his appearance is definitely not all that there is to Baekhyun, Chanyeol is not going to be a hypocrite – the other boy is staggeringly attractive.

Chanyeol swallows the saliva that has pooled in his mouth.

‘Can you grab that green box, please?’ Baekhyun says quietly, moving aside to let Chanyeol through.

‘So now you’re being polite.’ The taller murmurs snappily before he can stop himself, too caught up in the lingering feelings of past resentment. Baekhyun frowns.

‘Can you just hand me the bloody box, Park, so we can get out of this closet of a back room and not breathe each other’s air for any longer than we have to?’ The shorter blond hisses, pursing his lips immediately as if fearing that he will say something that he will ultimately regret, but he needs not worry – Park Chanyeol is there, more than willing to speak for two.

‘Funny that you should mention closets.’

‘Why? Is your guilty conscience keeping you awake at night? It should.’ Any thoughts of taming his tongue fly out of Baekhyun’s head. Chanyeol, who despite his impressive height was still tip toeing in order to reach the highest shelf, momentarily forgets the task as his head turns rapidly and his eyes widen comically, looking at his companion is sheer disbelief.

‘Me? Guilty? Of what? Of giving you the best kiss that you’ve probably had in your entire freaking life?’

‘Don’t flatter yourself, and no – don’t pretend not to know what I’m talking about. God, you’re such an idiot,’ Baekhyun bites back, turning around from the other with a huff, rummaging through the lower cupboard with a new found energy that is in 95% fuelled by utter frustration.

‘I’m the idiot? _I’m_ the idiot?’ Chanyeol’s voice raises in volume - if that’s even possible, because it’s always been absolutely booming when the boy gets excited. ‘Even now when we’re stuck in here together, you’re gonna give me that attitude?! I poured my heart out to you, and the next day-‘

‘Hey, lovebirds.’ Kyungsoo appears at the door, seemingly calm but actually boiling inside. ‘I’ll give you exactly five seconds to shut the hell up and bring us the things that Minseok hyung sent you in for. You don’t wanna know what happens after that. We still have to find a way to shake some sense into the moron that locked us up in here, and sadly murder is out of the question.’

He disappears as soon as he’s done with his speech, leaving the other two gaping.

‘And bring out the gas bottle!’ They hear him shout almost as an afterthought, before they have a chance to remember to get back to their own argument. ‘I was supposed to be home by now, eating my mum’s galbi, but fuck it. We’re gonna cook that jin ramyeon that we are rightfully entitled to.’

‘Perks of working at a convenience store,’ Chanyeol and Baekhyun hear Minseok supply somewhere in the background, presumably explaining to the others present in the shop.

‘Since nobody else is gonna step into this shop tonight, might as well get the ready meals out. They’ll expire in the morning, anyway,’ Kyungsoo grumbles more to himself this time as he passes by the half open door and examines the cooling cabinet.

‘Let’s just get out of here,’ Baekhyun decides and grabbing the box from Chanyeol’s hands, make a quick head move, pointing to the gas bottle standing in the corner. ‘Bring in the bottle and be careful with that red wire. It’s been loose for some time.’

‘Hey. Hey!’ Chanyeol’s protests fall on deaf ears and he has no choice but to half drag, half push it out by himself. He grits his teeth.

The next forty minutes is spent on shuffling around and looking miserable (Junmyeon), quiet consumption of soon-to-be expired doshirak (Yifan and Minseok; Lu Han is too nervous next to his crush to take more than a few bites) and cooking the ramyeon on the makeshift gas bottle stove (Chanyeol and Baekhyun – they are sent away, closer to the counter, partly out of flame caution, and partly because their uninterrupted bickering soon gets on everyone’s nerves.

‘Can you stop stirring the noodles? You’ll make them soggy. I hate them soggy,’ Chanyeol complains, trying to take the pair of chopsticks out of Baekhyun’s right hand. Baekhyun begins to stir the noodles even harder.)

But soon even the two of them tire of playing the hate game, because it’s getting cold and the lack of movement takes a toll on them.

‘Move closer, Park.’ Baekhyun beacons reluctantly.

Noodles were nice, but did little to help them all retain heat in a long run, and although snuggle next to Park Chanyeol is probably the last thing that he wants to do right now, he has no choice – it is cold, even in one’s own jacket, and he’s run out of potential partner options to share a blanket with. They’ve found only three mildly smelly blankets behind the spare freezer they keep in at the back (‘They’re for emergency only,’ Baekhyun tried to reason, but both Minseok and Kyungsoo looked unimpressed by the state of their cleanness), so Baekhyun let Minseok and Lu Han share one, like he knows that Lu Han has been dying to, and then the two strangers ended up sharing as well. Kyungsoo has refused to touch the cover, looking at his friend with a _you don’t even know where that thing has been_ look, but it is fine because his 400 thousand won The North Face jacket will keep him warm. Chanyeol, on the other hand, is already beginning to shake and Baekhyun is not heartless, despite what he likes to tell himself.

‘No, thanks. Who’d want to sit next to you.’ The taller sasses, albeit eyeing Baekhyun every now and then. Baekhyun sighs.

‘Those that don’t want to freeze to death.’ He mumbles a reply, not in the mood to fight anymore. It’s either the blond’s resigned tone or the cold creeping in the taller’s bones that finally strike a chord, but Chanyeol eventually moves his chair closer and closer, until he’s nearly glued to his enemy-but-not-really’s side, and Baekhyun wordlessly hands him the other side of the thick fabric. Chanyeol accepts it in equal silence, pretending that it’s no big deal.

Chanyeol smells nice, of coconut, but that much Baekhyun already knew.

Before the awkwardness escalates to the point of no return, Lu Han timidly suggests that they all get to know each other and Baekhyun complies, but only because he feels bad rejecting the offer. The other has been nothing but nice the whole time and Baekhyun can use a new friend. And it did not escape him that Minseok seems to be more fond of the foreigner than he bothered to let on, so Baekhyun cannot be a horrible best friend and scare the other’s love interest.

‘You start. It’s only fair since you got us in the mess.’ Chanyeol grumbles, pointing to the sulking Junmyeon, who startles at the words, but his shoulders ultimately slump in defeat. He takes a deep sigh.

‘I’m an idiot.’ He declares miserably. _But we already know that_ , Baekhyun has the urge to say and when his and Chanyeol’s eyes accidentally meet, he knows that the other is thinking the exact same thing. ‘I was supposed to come down to Busan only for a few hours in the morning to finalise my employment papers and go back immediately to do some final revision - my graduate exam starts tomorrow at 10 o’clock. But a friend asked me to stay for a celebratory drink and I just can never say no, you know? I’m such a push over.’

‘Being nice to your friends is not wrong.’ Yifan looks at the other, offering some consolation.

‘But not when my life depends on that one exam!’ Junmyeon’s attitude quickly changes. ‘If I don’t make it to the exam, I can kiss this job good bye, and it took me ages to find it. The economy is not good these days.’ He states the obvious and hangs his head low, basically shutting everyone out.

‘Lu Han?’ Minseok prompts after it becomes clear that the first speaker won’t utter another word. Baekhyun, who has never heard about Lu Han from his best friend, could probably find an excuse to tease Minseok but he knows exactly just how savage the other can be, so for his own safety he keeps quiet.

‘Eh, well… There is not much to know about me.’

‘Yeah, we already know that you’re deeply and irrevocably in love with Minseok hyung. The rest are details.’ Kyungsoo smirks - Baekhyun’s never seen Kyungsoo making such bold assumptions, meaning that there is more to Lu Han and his frequent visits at the store than Baekhyun knows about. Kyungsoo usually has only two default states – sickeningly sweet and constantly judging.

The Chinese boy immediately blushes, although he’s clearly trying to maintain a brave face. It’s Minseok who responds.

‘Yeah, just like we all know that you’ve been pining over that kid Kim since middle school and still only look him in the eye long enough to say _hi_ on the corridor. But details, Do Kyungsoo, isn’t that right?’ Kyungsoo pales on the spot, his smirk a shadow of the past.

_Savage. Minseok is savage and Baekhyun doesn’t play well with savage._

‘You’re Byun Baekhyun, aren’t you?’ Lu Han says suddenly, probably to divert attention from himself. ‘ _The_ Byun Baekhyun from class C?’

‘Yes?’ Baekhyun replies, making it seem more like a question. ‘Why, am I famous?’ He cracks a lame joke.

‘When Chanyeol came to stay at my house, you were all that he talked about for the entire month.’

‘Lu Han, I swear to god-‘ Chanyeol makes an abrupt movement that nearly has him falling off his chair. His ears go incredibly read as he tries to warn his friend not to say another word.

‘Oh, yeah? Just what exactly did this big oaf say about me?’ Baekhyun’s voice is anything but pleasant as he inquires further. His mood sours immediately.

‘Lu Han-‘ Chanyeol urges again, before turning to the person with whom he is sharing the blanket. He tries to appear defensive. ‘I didn’t say anything that would be a lie.’

‘Oh, I’m sure. Because you’re such a truthful guy, aren’t you?’ Baekhyun mocks, scowling. He feels a headache coming.

He’s upset, but only partly because of the current situation and the things that Baekhyun imagines that Chanyeol could spout to Lu Han and all his friends in China – not to mention, those in their own very school. Even if he does not want to admit it to himself, it still hurts, thinking that Chanyeol could have taken advantage of his feeling this way. He thought that they’d been circling around each other for some time, and when they finally got together at Sehun’s party, Baekhyun certainly couldn’t have predicted the bitter ending of the encounter – and let alone, that Park Chanyeol would go around and industriously distribute his own version of the story.

In sum, Byun Baekhyun is definitely done with high school romance for a long while.

‘He likes you so much, but you’ve broken his heart.’ Lu Han purses his lips, looking at Baekhyun sadly. Now, that has the latter’s blood boiling.

‘I broke _his_ heart?!’ Only the cold he’s experiencing keeps the blond from jumping out from underneath the rugged blanket to slap anyone’s worthy of a good beating.

‘I don’t like him!’ Chanyeol exclaims at the same time. They look at each other, both beyond embarrassed. And in Baekhyun’s case, also offended.

‘I’m so done with you two, you can’t even imagine.’ Kyungsoo stands up, startling them all as he previously seemed half ready to drift into a fast food induced coma. ‘Baekhyun had been dying to hook up with you since freshmen year, and even when you finally do get together, the drama continues. And you,’ Kyungsoo’s eyes narrow dangerously at Chanyeol, completely ignoring spluttering Baekhyun. ‘Stop spreading lies about my friend. You took advantage of his vulnerability and then left for China like it was no big deal. Are you even human?’

Baekhyun abruptly stops trying to cut in and looks at Kyungsoo in gratefulness. Baekhyun honestly has doubts sometimes whether Kyungsoo even considers him a close companion, because they spend more time together during their shift than outside of it, but now he suddenly understands all that Jongdae has said about Kyungsoo’s friendship being fierce and protective. It totally makes up for the remaining ninety percent of Kyungsoo being a dick to everyone – at least that’s what it feels like in this very moment

‘Excuse me, Chanyeol waited for your friend’s call or message for more than two months before he gave up. He was very miserable.’ Lu Han stands up, now irritated. His inhabitations seem to have disappeared when it comes to those that aren’t Minseok.

Baekhyun, who can sense the upcoming storm which even Yifan’s _okay, let’s all calm down, kids_ surely will not solve, stands up without another word and taking one torch from the counter in passing, relocates to the back room, shutting the door behind himself. At this point, he can freeze in here for all he cares – at least he won’t have to face anyone in the morning after all this embarrassment.

But he’s not meant to remain there alone with his thoughts for long - perhaps less than ten minutes - as the door opens again and the least expected person appears in sight. Chanyeol promptly closes it back and fits himself right next to Baekhyun, completely disregarding any sense of personal space and throwing the familiar blanket over them. Chanyeol plops down on the piece of cardboard that the other has lain down for at least a bit of comfort. The taller student pushes one _Cass_ can towards Baekhyun in a sign of piece.

‘I’m at work, you moron.’ The blond responds with no heat in his voice. Chanyeol shrugs.

‘I won’t tell if you won’t.’

‘Yeah, ok.’ The part-timer quickly agrees, before opening the can and gulping down half of its content. Admittedly, he needed something to take the edge of. ‘You’re paying for it, though.’

Chanyeol nods.

‘Are they still arguing about my love life?’ Baekhyun asks after a moment.

‘No. Kyungsoo is dozing off behind the counter, Lu Han and Minseok are killing time with some game and those two other people, I don’t even know. The one who has locked us up hasn’t moved a muscle for the past hour anyway.’

‘It’s not Junmyeon’s fault.’ Baekhyun offers weakly and Chanyeol scoffs.

‘Well, _he_ definitely doesn’t think so.’

‘I mean, we would have been stuck here anyway. Because of the snow and all.’

‘I suppose you’re right.’ Chanyeol sighs, leaning back against the shelves.

‘Minseok says that the locks here sometimes do that. When you wrestle the door. It dislocates or something.’ Baekhyun stops his explanation when he releases that it’s not necessary and he just rumbles.

‘Listen…’ The taller tries again after a few moments of silence. Baekhyun sips on his beer, staring into space. He briefly wonders why he hasn’t kicked Chanyeol out yet. It is a _staff only_ room, after all. ‘I think I owe you an apology. No matter what happened, I had no right to talk about you to my friends like that, I guess.’

‘You guess?’ The blond snorts, the beer almost getting in his nostrils.

‘No, I had no right.’ Chanyeol corrects immediately. ‘I was just angry, you know. I-I…’ He voice wavers, and even in the darkness Baekhyun is sure that the other is blushing.

Chanyeol wasn’t like this when Baekhyun fell for him – this brusque and obnoxious. He was a goofy basketball player, who was in fact more interested in his drum set that he could sadly only see during summer breaks at his grandparents’ house in the countryside, as the thin walls of city apartment blocks don’t encourage the volume of rock music. Baekhyun has never heard Chanyeol play that particular instrument, but he is sure that the tall boy is at least as loud as the music that he can produce. And that used to be charming. It used to keep Baekhyun up at night, nervous about what the next day could bring – whether Chanyeol would stop by Baekhyun’s locker in the morning to talk about the latest chapter of _Soldier RPG_ , the webtoon they both happened to read at that time, or perhaps Baekhyun could eat lunch with Sehun that day, and where Sehun went, Chanyeol was bound to be.

‘I want to know what I did wrong. I know this probably comes six months too late, but I thought you liked it when I kissed you. I thought you…’ He clears his throat. Now Baekhyun is sure that Chanyeol is as red as a tomato. But he’s trying, Baekhyun sees him try for the first time since this whole thing started, and that’s the reason why the blond hasn’t interrupted him yet. ‘I thought that you liked my confession.’ Chanyeol adds quietly.

‘I was waiting for a phone call from you like an idiot for the entire weekend after that party. You weren’t at school the following Monday and I realised that you’d left for China already. I messaged you on KaTalk several times, but you never replied. I can take a hint, you know.’

‘That wasn’t… what?’ Chanyeol asks, confused.

‘What was I supposed to think? I was bitter and humiliated. You played me and I was going to confront you, but even before you turned up for school, some of your friends had started giving me a stinky eye and suddenly I was the bad guy.’

‘I changed phones as soon as I landed in China, so I didn’t bother re-installing Kakao. I told Sehun to tell you, I didn’t have any way of contacting you. I wanted to exchange Skype IDs with you, I told you that at the party! I was waiting for you to add me.’

‘You never said anything like this.’ Baekhyun turns to him, frowning, even though he can’t see him.

‘I did too! I said, I’ll leave my contacts with Sehun, so we can keep in touch when I’m away! I said to ask him when you wanted to.’

‘How drunk were you at that party, Chanyeol?’

‘How drunk were _you_? You were trying to write your email on my arm at some point, but gave up half way through. It went like mongryeon- something…’ Chanyeol scratches his head, trying to remember the strange name.

‘Mongryeong0506 at naver net. Oh.’ Baekhyun has a sudden flashback. He did, indeed, tip over a bucket full of umbrellas in his haste to find a pen that night. He nearly killed himself when he fell to the floor – he still has a scar on his left shin.

‘We weren’t even that close at the time, there was no other means of communicating with you, other than through a common friend.’ Chanyeol reasons, pleading for Baekhyun to understand.

‘Well, alright. I never received anything from Sehun, and it never occurred to me to ask him, of all people. What did he say when you asked him? He must have lied to you. He never gave me anything.’

‘Oh. Well…’ Chanyeol smiles sheepishly, his many teeth nearly shining in the dark.

‘You did ask him, didn’t you?’ Baekhyun makes sure, but deep down he can already guess where this is going.

‘Well, no exactly…’

‘You didn’t check with him?’

‘Well, I clearly told you to retrieve it from him, so when you didn’t contact me, I assumed that you just didn’t want to.’

‘You said no such thing!’ Baekhyun denies vehemently, just on principle, but to be fair, he has no recollection of anything other than their kiss. ‘You-‘ The blond takes a deep, calming breath. ‘So we were both wasted and incapable of exchanging contact information, and instead of finding me on Facebook, you entrusted the mission to the one person who was probably even more drunk than the two of us combined.’

‘But you don’t have Facebook!’ Chanyeol looks at Baekhyun, astonished. The blond frowns.

‘Says who?’

‘Said you! You told me that you didn’t like social media, it was, like, the first time we officially met.’

‘That was over a year ago! You said it was easy to keep in touch that way so I made an account. I just never told you, because I didn’t want it to look like I did it for you.’

‘…But you did.’ Chanyeol’s lips stretch in a smirk despite the situation. It’s Baekhyun’s turn to blush.

‘My point is,’ the part-timer raises his voice in order to drown the embarrassment of unwanted revelation. ‘This is all just a big misunderstanding, right? You meant what you said at that party, didn’t you?’

‘Yeah.’ Chanyeol admits shyly after a moment, looking away.

‘So you just got mad and told all your friends about what happened. You weren’t intentionally trying to make me a laughing stock, right?’

‘I’m sorry. I just felt so humiliated. I shouldn’t have said what I said. There is no excuse.’

‘No, there’s none.’ Baekhyun agrees. Chanyeol hangs his head low. ‘Do you still like me?’

‘I-I… I’ll say it if you say it first.’ Chanyeol responds childishly and Baekhyun makes a move to stand up.

‘Well, then. Bye.’

Wait, no!’ Chanyeol quickly grabs the other’s arm to prevent him from leaving. ‘I like you, I do. A lot. Lu Han is right. I kept cursing you all this time, but I didn’t mean it. It just gave me a reason to talk about you. And I was hurt.’

‘I like you a lot too, Chanyeol. I think I’ve liked you longer than you can imagine. And this just really sucks.’

When it becomes clear that Baekhyun isn’t going to say anything else, Chanyeol gulps.

‘So… We like each other.’ He lets it hang for a bit, before he adds. ‘We should have had this conversation way earlier, huh?’

‘There was no way that I was getting anywhere near you after you’ve had half of the school bad mouthing me for having played you.’

‘I know.’ Chanyeol admits in a small voice. ‘Is there… is there any way that I can make it up to you? I don’t want to lose you… if I haven’t already.’

‘You were a total dick to me, but you can try to change my mind, I guess.’ Baekhyun muses, a small smile on his lips.

Yeah, the stupid stories that emerged after Chanyeol’s big mouth decided to spill some beans to his closest friends weren’t nice, but Baekhyun isn’t exactly bullied for them or anything, so it feels easy to forgive Chanyeol and feel excessively giggly and happy inside. _It was just a misunderstanding._ It was a misunderstanding that could have been easily solved if one of them had just swallowed their pride, but when you feel about someone as strongly as Baekhyun felt and still feels about Chanyeol, it is hard to put yourself out there after you have been shut out once.

‘Anything.’

‘Good. You can start by reminding me why I liked that kiss we shared so much.’ Chanyeol’s eyes widen, clearly not expecting such fast development, but Baekhyun is past wasting time and unnecessarily torturing both the taller boy and himself.

‘You’re going to tell everyone that you were very wrong for being an assuming arsehole, and that it was all your fault, obviously.’ Baekhyun breathes into Chanyeol’s mouth just before their lips meet. The brunette nods mindlessly, eager to just get to the good part.

And then they do.

‘Come hang out at my place.’

‘I already told you I can’t – I have to go to work. You knew my shift schedule well even before we started dating.’

Chanyeol sighs, but still follows his boyfriend dutifully as they leave their school.

‘Walk me home?’ Baekhyun offers hopefully, knowing full well that Chanyeol will anyway. It’s less than ten minutes to the taller’s family flat, and Baekhyun’s one-room is right across the street.

They walk leisurely, the weather is nice. A lot has changed around them since that faithful night two months ago that they spent in Seven-Eleven’s backroom – the weather has become much warmer and cherry blossom is already showing; Lu Han is still making moon eyes at Minseok, but this time Minseok just kisses him into dizziness; Kyungsoo has left the troublesome job to pursue something more worthwhile, like taking over the world, perhaps; Yifan, who works nearby, still visits the shop sometimes, usually late in the evening, right after his broadcast at the radio finishes.

Junmyeon - who managed to get to his exam that following morning (largely thanks to Yifan and his car), passed it and took over an administrative job in one of the offices near Centum City - comes by with unexplainable frequency just to purchase _Yuja_. Baekhyun thinks that he’s just secretly hoping to see Yifan again.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol reach the former’s block where he dumps his belongings and then makes out with his boyfriend for five long minutes, before having to shake Chanyeol off to retain the last bit of his sanity. Chanyeol whines, rolling to his back.

‘You’re not playing fair,’ the taller accuses, and Baekhyun knows it, but he only shrugs, barely containing a smirk. He can deal with that later – he _will_ deal with that later. Now he has to go and earn his keep.

‘You can hang out here for a bit, study or something. I really need to go. Joohyun will be late for her class if I don’t show up on time.’

Nah, I’m gonna go as well.’ Chanyeol announces, picking up the bag that he has so unceremoniously discarded upon arrival.

They exit the building and walk to the convenience store, where Baekhyun immediately takes over the shift and lets his colleague, a university student, go on with her day, and Chanyeol… What is Chanyeol doing there again?

‘I thought you were gonna go.’ Baekhyun frowns, but an exasperated smile quickly makes its way to his lips. Chanyeol grins.

‘I don’t know what you mean. I came here for an ice cream, which I’m now going to pay for,’ he picks a Melona from the freezer, because _duh, the flavour of my childhood, thank you very much_ ‘and will eat over the next hour or two at this very table.’ He plops down on the chair next to the microwaves once Baekhyun has swiped his card, still shaking his head. ‘I’m gonna do some homework… maybe.’

The part-timer is not supposed to be engaging in any sort of personal affairs during working hours, and that certainly involves snogging his boyfriend in the middle of his work place, but what his manager doesn’t see won’t hurt her, Baekhyun recons.

‘You’re never going to graduate like this.’ Baekhyun moves back behind the counter and takes out his own notebooks.

‘Perhaps I should just lock us up here, then. Last time it took them several hours before they came to retrieve us.’ Chanyeol jokes.

‘This time it would take only 30 minutes or so.’ Baekhyun reasons, but Chanyeol grins again.

‘Still good if you ask me.’

‘And stop staring at me.’ Baekhyun says after a moment of silence. He can practically feel the other’s gaze drilling holes in his head.

‘I’m not.’ The laughter heard in the taller’s voice immediately gives him away and Baekhyun laughs as well.

He should get used to it, because Chanyeol is going to be there every shift that the blond takes, just because he can. Because he lives so close. And because he can’t take his eyes off Baekhyun.

_How convenient, the blond thinks in passing, as he continues to grin into his math assignment. How convenient._


End file.
